Memories
by Okori Yo
Summary: Naruto and Gundam Seed crossover. After Haku and Nicol meet each other in Heaven, what will happen?


**Disclaimer**: I don't own the Naruto or Gundam Seed characters featured in this story. There will be shounen-ai content later on. Hinted ZabuzaxHaku, NarutoxHaku and AthunxNicol.

Chapter 1: Life's End

_Haku stood there, the electricity still crackling from the newly-created hole in his chest. The young ninja had just been dealt a fatal blow, all so that he could protect the life of the one he treasured most. At first, he could think of nothing but the immense pain radiating from the shredded remains of his heart. _

Thud….Thud…..Thud….

_He could still feel his heart beating, but the pulse was getting weaker by the second as his life drained away. Haku's thoughts turned from his impending death to the ninja he had served. Zabuza had saved him from a slow death on the streets years ago, when Haku was just a young boy, still haunted by the deaths of his parents. Since then, he had become a human weapon, following Zabuza's every order. Although kind by nature, Haku had often killed other ninja who threatened his master. Early on, the boy had stolen away and cried for hours, hating that fact that he had killed yet another person. Slowly, over time, he had gotten used to the fact that death was a constant part of his life. But Haku still didn't like it. _

Thud……..Thud……..Thud……..

_Realizing that his time was short, Haku became determined to make one final effort to protect Zabuza. Concentrating, he made his right arm move up and over, his stiff fingers digging into the arm of the ninja who had just attacked him. There…now the Konoha shinobi would have to work to get his arm free. _

Thud…………….Thud……………Thud……………

_Drawing a shallow breath, Haku's thoughts touched briefly on the blonde ninja he had been fighting just a few moments before. He had been drawn to him, moved by the same force that had led him to follow Zabuza's trail of death and destruction. The young ninja wished he had met Naruto earlier in life. But he couldn't change the past, and the future was lost to him now._

Thud……………………………..Thud……………………………..

_His head titled downwards as his strength vanished, along with the pain. Everything was fading to white…the colour of freshly fallen snow. As life faded and everything went white, Haku managed to mutter, "Za…bu…za…" _

_**……….I love you……….I'm sorry……….**_

…………………………Thud.

- - -

_Nicol Amalfi sat the cockpit of the Blitz Gundam, the pink glow of the beam sword lighting up the small area. Although he couldn't feel it, he knew that blood was flowing down his legs, collecting in a dark pool around his feet. There was pain, but he was ignoring it, still thinking about the chain that events that was about to end with his death. Athrun, his fellow team mate, had been fighting the Strike Gundam when it appeared he was in trouble. Noticing it, Nicol had come charging to his aid, but things had backfired from there. Instead of attacking the Earth Alliance Gundam, the opponent machine had struck first, driving it's beam sword right into the cockpit - and into it's pilot._

Thud….Thud…..Thud….

_The young boy sat there, staring out at the scene in front of him. After immobilizing the his Gundam, the Strike Gundam had backed off, it's pilot obviously shocked by the sudden turn of events. Nicol knew he was going to die. He had been told that the first day he had signed up to begin training as a ZAFT pilot. War and death walked hand-in-hand, just like they had always done._

Thud……..Thud……..Thud……..

_Despite the fact that he only had a few more minutes to live, his thoughts weren't focused on that. Instead, they turned to Athrun. Even since they had first met back at the academy, he had been drawn towards the older teen. The blue-haired boy had been the first person that hadn't made fun of Nicol for being such a wimp, and had always supported him, even going to one of his piano recitals during their last shore leave. He had to warn him of the danger…_

_"Athrun…run away…"_

_Nicol blinked, his vision turning red as blood rushed up into his helmet. The plastic shield then cracked, the pink glow dimming slightly turn the veil of blood. The notes of his piano suddenly drifted through the air, and Nicol saw his mother smiling at him, beckoning to her son. Confused, he murmured, "Mother…my piano?"_

Thud…………….Thud……………Thud……………

_As the world faded away, Nicol thought once more of Athrun. There was so much more he wanted to say to him. But now he would never get the chance. Just before the Blitz Gundam exploded, a final though ran through his mind._

_**……….I love you……….I'm sorry……….**_

…………………………Thud.

- - -

Brown eyes opened slowly, gazing up into a bright blue sky. Blinking, they narrowed in confusion, then closed for a minute. A soft sigh was heard, then the chocolate orbs opened once again, this time looking up into a opposing pair of dark eyes, these a slightly lighter hue of brown.

Haku stared up at the younger boy, admiring the way his pale green hair framed his face. Whoever he was, he sure was pretty. The youth then gave him a friendly smile and spoke. "Hi there! I'm Nicol. May I ask who you are?"

Returning the smile, Haku sat up and nodded in greeting. "Hello. My name is Haku. Nice to meet you."

"Same here." the green-haired boy replied, gazing around at their surroundings. The pair were sitting on top of a low hill, a field of flowers spread out before them. A slight breeze ruffled the ninja's long brown hair, and the teen realized that he was no longer dressed in his usual outfit. He was now wearing a long fluffy white robe with oversized sleeves and a pair of brown sandals. His Mist Village headband had vanished, leaving his long hair loose. Nicol was dressed the same way he was, and was also examining his attire.

"Wow…these robes are pretty neat. It's a big difference from my ZAFT uniform. What do you think of them?" Nicol asked, stretching his arms out and sighing happily. Haku gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment, then answered. "I'm used to wearing a kimono, so this isn't too different from that." He had no idea what the younger boy meant by 'ZAFT', but the ninja didn't bother to ask. Haku could tell that they came from different universes, and that there would be times when they might not totally understand what the other was talking about. But since they were here for eternity, the boy had a feeling that he would learn about Nicol over time.

"So your universe has kimonos too? Cool! If you don't mind me asking…how did you die?" Nicol asked, moving over to sit next to Haku. Leaning back on his hands, the teen looked up into the blue sky, watching as a cloud drifted lazily past. His thoughts flashed back to those final moments, and he smiled happy that he had held off Zabuza's death for a little longer.

"I died protecting the one I love. I fought and died for him. He was my life, my soul…and now I'll never see him again…" Haku said quietly, glancing over at Nicol. The boy was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I also died saving the one I love. He was my team mate, my friend…I might see him, but I hope it's not for a very long time. The one you loved…where will he go?"

"This is Heaven, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then…he'll go to Hell. He explained it to me once. He told me that since he had killed so many people and had done so much bad in the world, his soul was filled with darkness and would go to Hell when he died. I did terrible things while I was alive too, so why did I come here? Why didn't I join him?" Haku wondered aloud, brown eyes filling with tears at the pain he felt.

"Maybe it's how you feel inside that determines where you go when you die, not what actions you did while you where alive. I…I also did bad things, but it was either kill or get killed. That's just how war is." Nicol answered quietly, moving closer and placing a hand on Haku's shoulder. "We both died protecting the ones we loved most. That has to count for something, right?" The teen blinked back his tears and looked into the dark brown eyes of the other boy, realizing that he was right.

"I suppose…besides, we can't exactly do much about it now, can we?" he replied, smiling slightly at Nicol.

"No, but at least we know that we tried our best." the younger teen said. Haku nodded slowly, sensing that the green-haired boy was carrying as much pain as he was. Smiling at him, Nicol stood up and held out a hand. "How about we go explore a bit? Maybe we'll meet more people." Liking the idea, Haku placed his hand in the other's and got to his feet.


End file.
